Belonging shouldn’t be means-tested, PIP isn’t a luxury – it’s a lifeline

But, even after last night’s victory in Parliament, the fight to secure their future isn’t over.

“We will take this through in a different way,” the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster told Radio 4 this morning, “…at a slower pace, because of the discussions in Parliament in recent days.”

I'm glad the Government was forced to listen and proceed with greater caution. Last night’s vote was a robust display of democracy in action.

But we should not have to go through this debate all over again in 14 months when the Timms Review publishes its findings. Enough stress, uncertainty, and anguish has already been caused to disabled people and their carers.

For some, this debate continues to be all about the numbers: balancing the books, suspected fraud, fiscal responsibility. These are important issues that deserve scrutiny.

But as many brave Labour rebels rightly argued last night, this is not primarily an economic issue. It’s a human one.

It’s a question of dignity. Of independence. Of belonging. And in some cases, of life and death.

PIP was introduced to give people with disabilities the freedom to move, work, and live independently. It recognises that disability often carries unavoidable costs and that without support, many are forced to live isolated, restricted lives.

The 2025 Belonging Barometer, published by my organisation the Belonging Forum, found that people with disabilities are among the least likely in society to feel they belong. Just 27% say they feel a strong sense of belonging in Britain, compared to 41% of non-disabled people. They are also significantly more likely to report chronic loneliness and barriers to employment.

Disability-related isolation is real. And it takes a toll. It harms people with disabilities’ well-being and limits their ability to contribute socially and economically.

We polled 10,000 people and found only 16% of frequently lonely individuals rate their mental health as excellent or very good, compared to 54% among those who are hardly ever lonely.

A significant part of the reason is financial. And it’s set to worsen.

New research from Scope, released earlier this week, estimates that the extra cost of being disabled in the UK (covering essentials like energy, transport, and care) is set to rise by almost 12% in the next five years, reaching nearly £15,000 a year by 2030.

In this context, a benefit like PIP is not a luxury. It is essential. It’s not just about covering expenses. It’s about unlocking lives. With benefits covering less than half of these expenses, PIP is not a comfort blanket, it’s a lifeline.

Of course, there are problems with the current system. Assessments can be dehumanising. Too often they are online. Decisions are too often overturned on appeal. And not enough focus is put on getting people back into work when this is possible.

This is why PIP needs care and improvement — not cuts. There is still time for the Timms Review to reorient and deliver change with compassion. But that will only happen if it centres the experiences of disabled people and genuinely listens to their voices.

As it stood, last night, until 90 minutes before the vote, roughly 430,000 new claimants would have been denied the daily living component due to the stricter criteria.

And what's more, if a disabled person lost the daily living component, their unpaid carer (another isolated and in-need group) would also have lost the Carer’s Allowance and the carer element in Universal Credit.

We need to name what this was. This wasn’t about rooting out a few bad actors. It was about reshaping the welfare state to be less generous to those who need it most. It’s about reinforcing a narrative that paints people with disabilities as fakers, not contributors. As outsiders, not neighbours.

That’s why I believe this moment must be a turning point — not just in disability policy, but in the language we use and the values we defend.

We must stop talking about people with disabilities as if they are someone else’s problem. They are us. Our friends, our parents, our children, our future selves. In a country growing older and living longer, disability is not a fringe issue.

Across the UK, millions of people live with disabilities — visible and invisible, lifelong and acquired. Any one of us could join them tomorrow through illness, injury, or age. It's not “us and them”. It’s all of us.

Rather than slashing support, we should be building a system we would be proud of, and unafraid to need ourselves. A system we all belong to.

Kim Samuel is the founder of the Belonging Forum and long-time campaigner for disability rights.

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